Golf ball with built-in ic chip

ABSTRACT

A golf ball of the present invention includes a small-size IC tag including an IC chip and a first antenna directly connected to the IC chip and having a size of 5 mm or less; and a conductive second antenna of which a part is disposed near the IC tag. The IC tag and the second antenna do not need to be in physical contact with each other. The distance between the part of the second antenna and the IC tag may be at most 1 mm. The second antenna may be arranged over at least a half of the circumference of the golf ball.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-131623 filed Jun. 30, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a golf ball with a built-in integrated circuit (IC) chip such as a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip.

In order to record information about golf balls, such as the material, the location of production, and the production date in the golf balls, attempts have been made to incorporate an IC chip in golf balls.

For example, JP 2013-154176 A discloses that an RFID circuit and an antenna connected thereto are formed on the surface of the cover of a golf ball by using a conductive ink in order to prevent damage to the built-in IC chip that may occur when the golf ball is hit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To transmit and receive information by wireless communication, a metal antenna is usually connected to a silicon IC chip. Small IC tags with an IC chip including a built-in antenna are currently being sold; however, because the antenna of such an IC tag is short, the communication range may be short when it is incorporated in golf balls, and as a result, the IC tag cannot be easily read by a reader. Accordingly, in incorporating such an IC tag in a golf ball, it is necessary to connect a long antenna to the IC chip. However, because a golf ball is greatly deformed at the moment it is hit, a problem may arise in that the bonding portion between the IC chip and the antenna is particularly easily damaged, and thus, communication may very soon fail.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a golf ball with a built-in IC chip capable of preventing communication failure that may occur due to damage on the IC chip incorporated in the golf ball caused by impact from hitting of the ball.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a golf ball with a built-in IC chip according to the present invention includes: a core located in the center of the golf ball; a cover surrounding an outside of the core; an IC tag arranged between the core and the cover, the IC tag further including an IC chip and a first antenna directly connected to the IC chip; and a second antenna of which a part is disposed near the IC tag.

It is not necessary for the second antenna and the IC tag to be in physical contact with each other. Preferably, the part of the second antenna disposed near the IC tag may be located within a distance of at most 1 mm from the IC tag. The second antenna may be disposed over at least a half of the outer periphery of the IC tag. The second antenna may be arranged over at least a half of the circumference of the golf ball. The size of the IC chip may be at most 5 mm.

As described above, according to the present invention, a part of the second antenna being disposed near the IC tag which includes the built-in first antenna and is arranged between the core and the cover of the golf ball, and thus, the second antenna functions as an antenna for the IC chip via the first antenna in the IC tag although the second antenna is not physically connected with the IC chip in the IC tag for electrical connection. Accordingly, the communication distance of the IC tag can be dramatically extended compared with the case of using the IC tag only. In addition, the second antenna is physically coupled with neither the IC chip nor the first antenna, and thus, there is no case in which a bonding portion between the second antenna and the IC chip is damaged due to the hitting of the golf ball, resulting in preventing communication failure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically showing an embodiment of a golf ball according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing an RFID tag incorporated in the golf ball illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross sectional view of the golf ball illustrated in FIG. 1 along a line III-III.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross sectional view showing another embodiment of a golf ball according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an IC chip with an external antenna used in a Comparative Example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, embodiments of a golf ball with a built-in IC chip according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments will be described merely for easier understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. Also, the components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, a golf ball 1 of the present embodiment includes a core 10 arranged in the center of the golf ball; a cover 20 surrounding an outer periphery of the core; an RFID tag 30 for transmitting and receiving information by wireless communication; and a boost antenna 40 for the RFID tag as main components. A plurality of dimples (not shown) is formed on the surface of the cover 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the RFID tag 30 includes an IC chip 32 for storage and computation of the information; and a built-in antenna 36 for exchanging wireless frequency signals. The IC chip 32 and the built-in antenna 36 are directly and physically connected with each other for electrical connection. Specifically, the terms “RFID tag” and “IC tag” herein refers to a tag including an IC chip and an antenna which is directly connected to the IC chip are integrally implemented, and the antenna will be hereafter referred to as the “built-in antenna” or the “first antenna”.

In the present embodiment, the RFID tag 30 includes the IC chip 32 and the built-in antenna 36 integrally formed on a substrate 34 as illustrated in FIG. 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. Specifically, the RFID tag 30 may alternatively include an IC chip and a built-in antenna directly connected to the IC chip, which are integrated together by using a sealing material, for example. The shape of the RFID tag is not limited to a flat rectangular solid as illustrated in the drawing, and it may have a disc-like shape.

To prevent dislocation of the center of gravity point of the golf ball from the center of the ball, the smaller the size of the RFID tag 30, the more preferable it is. Specifically, the size of the RFID tag 30 is preferably 5 mm or less, and more preferably 3 mm or less. If the flat rectangular solid shape is employed, the length and the width are preferably 5 mm or less, more preferably 3 mm or less, respectively, for example. If the disc-like shape is employed, the diameter is preferably 5 mm or less, more preferably 3 mm or less, for example. For both the configuration which employs the flat rectangular solid shape and the configuration which employs the disc-like shape, the thickness of the RFID tag 30 is preferably 1 mm or less, and more preferably 0.5 mm or less.

The IC chip 32 may be a passive chip which operates by radio waves received from an external reader (not shown). However, the IC chip 32 may also be an active chip incorporating a battery cell. In this configuration, the built-in battery cell can be charged by using a contactless charger.

The IC chip 32 is not particularly limited in terms of the frequency band to be used. Specifically, the IC chip 32 may use the 13.56 MHz band (high frequency (HF) band) or the 952 to 954 MHz bands (ultrahigh frequency (UHF) bands), for example.

The boost antenna 40 is disposed near the RFID tag 30, particularly in a center portion 40 a thereof. The term “disposed near” herein refers to a state in which the boost antenna 40 is disposed near, close to, proximately to, in the vicinity of, or around the RFID tag 30, including a state in which the boost antenna 40 and the RFID tag 30 are not in physical contact for electrical connection, but the boost antenna 40 and the RFID tag 30 may be in non-electrical contact. Preferably, the RFID tag and the boost antenna 40 are arranged so that the distance therebetween is at most 1 mm.

By arranging the boost antenna 40 in relation to the RFID tag 30 in the above-described manner, even if a strong impact has been applied to the golf ball 1 due to hitting with a golf club, communication failure that may occur in the conventional technique due to damage on the connection portion between the IC chip and the antenna can be prevented because the IC chip 32 of the RFID tag 30 and the boost antenna 40 are not physically connected for electrical connection.

The boost antenna 40 is preferably arranged so that the above-described part thereof is disposed over at least a half of the outer periphery of the RFID tag 30 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Of course, in an alternative configuration, the boost antenna 40 may be arranged so that a part thereof is disposed on the entire outer periphery of the RFID tag 30.

The material of the boost antenna 40 is not particularly limited, except that it is a conductive material, and a metal yarn and a conductive yarn can be used. Examples of the metal yarn that can be used include filaments such as gold filament, silver filament, copper filament, and aluminum filament, and strands or knits of such filaments. For the conductive yarn, yarns including a core constituted by fibers such as nylon fiber and polyester fiber plated with metals such as silver and copper can be used. The percentage content of the metal constituting the conductive yarn is not particularly limited except that the content is high enough to secure the conductivity. Specifically, for example, the percentage content of the metal is preferably in a range of 10 to 70% by weight. In addition, in order to securely position the center of gravity point of the golf ball 1 in the center of the ball, it is preferable for the composition of the metal yarn and the conductive yarn to be a composition with which the specific gravity of the boost antenna 40 becomes the same as the specific gravity of the layer in which the RFID tag 30 and the like are arranged.

The diameter of the boost antenna 40 (the metallic yarn and the conductive yarn) is not particularly limited, and an upper limit thereof is preferably 1.5 mm or less, more preferably 1.0 mm. A lower limit thereof is preferably 0.1 mm or more, more preferably 0.3 mm or more.

The RFID tag 30 and the boost antenna 40 are arranged between the core 10 and the cover 20 as illustrated in FIG. 3. In the golf ball 1 with the two-piece structure constituted by the core 10 and the cover 20, it is preferable to embed the RFID tag 30 into a groove 12 formed on the surface of the core 10. In this configuration, it is preferable that the surface of the RFID tag 30 be flush with the surface of the core 10.

It is preferable to arrange the boost antenna 40 so that both side portions 40 b, 40 c extending from the center portion 40 a disposed near the RFID tag 30 extend in mutually opposite directions along the surface of the core 10. It is preferable that both side portions 40 b, 40 c have the same length. For the length of the entire boost antenna 40, the boost antenna 40 is arranged over about ¾ of the circumference of the golf ball 1 or the core 10 in FIG. 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, it is preferable to arrange the boost antenna 40 on a portion that corresponds to at least a half of the circumference of the golf ball 1 or the core 10. With the above-described configuration, the communication range is extended, and communication with the RFID tag 30 can be performed by using a reader at any location on the golf ball 1, i.e., even at a location on the golf ball on the opposite side of the RFID tag 30.

The shape or the arrangement of both side portions 40 b, 40 c of the boost antenna are not limited to those described above. Specifically, for example, both side portions 40 b, 40 c may extend over the entire circumference of the golf ball, may extend either in a straight shape or a curved shape, or alternatively, considering the symmetry of the golf ball, the boost antenna may be branched from the center portion into four parts to form an X-like shape.

The present invention can be employed in a golf ball having a multi-piece structure. For example, in a configuration in which the golf ball includes an intermediate layer 50 arranged between the core 10 and the cover 20 as illustrated in FIG. 4, it is preferable to embed the RFID tag 30 in a groove 52 formed on the surface of the intermediate layer 50. In addition, it is preferable to arrange the boost antenna 40 antenna 40 so that the both side portions 40 b, 40 c extending from the center portion 40 a disposed near the RFID tag 30 extend in mutually opposite directions along the surface of the intermediate layer 50. The number of the intermediate layer 50 is not limited to one as illustrated in FIG. 4, and alternatively, a plurality of intermediate layer 50 may be arranged. In the golf ball having the multi-piece structure, if a plurality of intermediate layers is provided, it is preferable to arrange the RFID tag and the boost antenna on the surface of the layer located in an inside of the layer in the outermost shell (i.e., the cover), and thereby a sufficient communication distance can be secured. In terms of the diameter of the golf ball, the boost antenna 40 is arranged on an imaginary sphere having a diameter of preferably 42 mm or less, more preferably 40 mm or less and having the same center as the golf ball. Also, the boost antenna 40 is arranged on a sphere having a diameter of preferably 20 mm or more, more preferably 30 mm or more.

The core 10 can be formed primarily from rubber. For the rubber (base material rubber) used as the main component, a wide variety of rubbers can be used. Examples of such a rubber include, but are not limited to, polybutadiene rubber (BR), styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), natural rubber (NR), polyisoprene rubber (IR), polyurethane rubber (PU), and silicone rubber.

In addition to the base material rubber that is the main component, optional components such as co-crosslinking agent, crosslinking agent, filler, age resistor, isomerization agent, peptizer, sulfur, and organosulfur compound can be added to the core 10. As the main component, a resin may be used instead of the rubber. Specifically, a thermoplastic elastomer, an ionomer resin, or a mixture thereof can also be used, for example.

The hardness of the core 10 is not particularly limited, and an upper limit thereof is preferably 60 or less, more preferably 50 or less, yet more preferably 40 or less, by the Shore D hardness. A lower limit of the hardness of the core 10 is preferably 20 or more, more preferably 30 or more, by the Shore D hardness.

The core 10 has a substantially spherical shape. An outer diameter of the core 10 is preferably 42 mm or less, more preferably 41 mm or less, yet more preferably 40 mm or less. Considering that the repulsion of the golf ball may be lowered if the outer diameter of the core 10 is too small, a lower limit of the outer diameter of the core 10 is preferably 5 mm or more, more preferably 15 mm or more, yet more preferably 25 mm or more. The core 10 is a solid core as illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the core 10 is not limited to this, and a hollow core may be used. In addition, the core 10 includes one layer as illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the core 10 is not limited to this and may be constituted by a plurality of layers including a center core and one or more surrounding layers.

The cover 20 can be formed by using a material that uses, but is not limited to, an ionomer resin, a polyurethane thermoplastic elastomer, thermosetting polyurethane, and a mixture thereof as the main component. For the above-described main component, a two-component curing type polyurethane resin can also be used. Further, in addition to the main component described above, other thermoplastic elastomers, a polyisocyanate compound, fatty acid or a derivative thereof, a basic inorganic metal compound, a filler, and the like can be added to the cover 20.

For the ionomer resin, a resin including, but not limited to, the following (a) component and/or (b) component as the base resin can be used. In addition, the following (c) component can be added to the base resin. The (a) component is an olefin-unsaturated carboxylic acid-unsaturated carboxylic ester ternary random copolymer and/or a metal salt thereof, the (b) component is an olefin-unsaturated carboxylic acid binary random copolymer and/or a metal salt thereof, and the (c) component is a thermoplastic block copolymer including a polyolefin crystalline block and a polyethylene/butylene random copolymer.

The hardness of the material constituting the cover 20 is not particularly limited, and a lower limit thereof is preferably 50 or more, more preferably 55 or more, by the Shore D hardness. An upper limit thereof is preferably 75 or less, more preferably 70 or less, yet more preferably 65 or less, by the Shore D hardness.

A lower limit of the thickness of the cover 20 is, but is not limited to, preferably 0.2 mm or more, more preferably 0.4 mm or more. An upper limit of the thickness of the cover 20 is, but is not limited to, preferably 4 mm or less, more preferably 3 mm or less, yet more preferably 2 mm or less. A plurality of dimples (not illustrated) is formed on the surface of the cover 20. The size, the shape, the number, and the like can be appropriately designed according to the aerodynamic performance desired for the golf ball.

For the material of the intermediate layer 50, an intermediate layer having a core-like function may be formed by using the same material as that of the core described above, and alternatively, an intermediate layer having a cover-like function may be formed by using the same material as that of the cover described above. In a configuration including a plurality of intermediate layers, a first intermediate layer having a core-like function and a second intermediate layer having a cover-like function, for example, may be provided.

It is preferable that the golf ball constituted by the core 10, the cover 20, and the optional intermediate layer 50 described above have a predetermined ball hardness. The ball hardness refers to a deformation amount of the golf ball when loads from the initial load of 98 N to the final load of 1275 N are applied to the golf ball (i.e., an amount of compressive deformation). The unit is expressed in “mm”. The rate of compression is 10 mm/s. For this ball hardness (deformation amount), the smaller the numerical value thereof, the harder the golf ball, and the higher the numerical value thereof, the softer the golf ball. In addition, the deformation amount affects the hitting feeling felt by the golfer when the golfer takes a shot, the durability, and the like. Accordingly, it is preferable that a lower limit of the deformation amount be 1.5 mm or more and an upper limit thereof be 5.0 mm or less.

Next, an embodiment of a method of producing the golf ball 1 incorporating the RFID tag 30 and the boost antenna 40 described above will be described.

First, the core 10 is molded by a known method for molding a core of a golf ball. Specifically, the core 10 can be obtained by a method in which a material including a base material rubber is kneaded by using a kneader, and then the kneaded material is molded by pressurized vulcanization in round molds. The groove 12 for the RFID tag formed on the surface of the core 10 can be formed by using the round molds or by excavating the surface of the molded product molded in molds by using excavation tools. The RFID tag 30 incorporating a commercial antenna, for example, is arranged in the groove 12.

As the boost antenna 40, a metal yarn or a conductive yarn is arranged on the surface of the core 10. In arranging them, the boost antenna 40 is arranged so that the boost antenna 40 surrounds the outer periphery of the RFID tag 30 over at least the half of the outer periphery. It is desirable that the distance between the boost antenna 40 and the RFID tag 30 be 1 mm or less. Of course, the boost antenna 40 and the RFID tag 30 may be partially in contact with each other.

Next, the cover 20 is formed by an injection molding method, for example. Specifically, the core 10 in which the RFID tag 30 and the boost antenna 40 have been arranged is placed into the mold for the cover in the center of the mold, then the material of the cover is introduced into the mold by injection so that the material covers the core 10, and thereby the cover 20 can be formed. In the above-described manner, the golf ball incorporating the RFID tag and the boost antenna can be produced.

Note that if an active RFID tag incorporating a battery cell is used, it is preferable that the cover be formed by introducing a two-component curing type polyurethane resin into the mold for the cover instead of using an injection molding method. Failure of the battery cell incorporated in the RFID tag due to heat can be prevented by using the two-component curing type polyurethane resin.

A method of producing the golf ball having the multi-piece structure including the intermediate layer 50 will be described. If the intermediate layer is formed by the material of the core, a known molding method for molding a multi-layer structured solid core can be employed in molding the intermediate layer. For example, the core 10 is obtained by the above-described method, the obtained core is used as the center core, further, the material of the core is kneaded by using a kneader, the kneaded material is molded into a sheet-like shape, then the center core is covered with the sheet and the resulting material is molded by pressurized vulcanization in round molds, and thereby a product including the intermediate layer 50 constituted by the material of the core and formed around the outer periphery of the center core 10 can be obtained. The groove 52 for the RFID tag on the surface of the intermediate layer 50 can be formed by using the above-described round molds or by excavating the surface of the molded product molded in molds by using excavation tools. The RFID tag 30 is arranged in the groove 52 and the boost antenna 40 is arranged on the surface of the intermediate layer 50. The cover 20 is formed by an injection molding method and the like, and thereby the golf ball having the multi-piece structure incorporating the RFID tag and the boost antenna can be produced.

Example

Three golf balls having the configurations shown in Table 1 were prepared for the Example of the present invention and the Comparative Example, and tests were carried out for measuring the durability of the golf balls and the performance of reading the built-in RFID tag. For the RFID tags, Monza 5 (frequency band: UHF) of Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd. was used. All of the RFID tags were a flat square body with the dimensions shown in Table 1. For the boost antenna, a conductive yarn (diameter: 0.7 mm) composed of 83% nylon and 17% silver was used. The boost antenna was disposed near the RFID tag with the center of the RFID tag surrounding the RFID tag on three edges of the RFID tag, within the distance from the RFID tag of 1 mm or less. The boost antenna was arranged by 39.3 mm on the diameter of the golf ball and along the half of the circumference of the golf ball (core).

Note that RFID tags similar to those in the Examples were used in the Comparative Examples including a configuration in which no boost antenna was arranged (Comparative Example 1), a configuration in which neither the RFID tag nor the boost antenna was arranged (Comparative Example 2), and a configuration in which an external antenna-bonded IC chip 60 to which an external antenna 66 (material: copper) formed with a ring-like shape and having the outer diameter of 11 mm was bonded to a commercial IC chip 62 including no built-in antenna by using a connection material constituted by the same material as that of the external antenna, instead of using an RFID tag (Comparative Example 3) as illustrated in FIG. 5. Tests similar to those for the Examples were carried out for the Comparative Examples. The material and the composition of the core and the cover of the golf balls were the same among Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3. Rubber was used as the material of the core, and an ionomer resin was used as the material of the cover. The hardness of the cover was D56.

TABLE 1 Example Comparative Example 1 2 3 1 2 3 RFID Product Monza 5 Monza 5 Monza 5 Monza 5 — IC chip tag name Size 1.2 × 1.2 × 0.7 1.7 × 1.7 × 0.7 2.5 × 2.5 × 0.3 1.7 × 1.7 × 0.7 — (mm) Boost antenna Disposed Disposed Disposed — — — near/half of near/half of near/half of circumference circumference circumference Ball outer 42.69 42.70 42.69 42.69 42.69 42.70 diameter (mm) Ball weight (g) 45.07 45.12 45.10 45.08 45.13 45.10 Ball hardness 3.21 3.25 3.22 3.23 3.19 3.20 (mm) Ball initial 77.28 77.27 77.27 77.32 77.26 77.21 velocity (m/s) Communication 20 100 300 5 — 10 distance (mm) COR durability 232 224 215 226 221 10

In Table 1, for all of the ball outer diameter, the ball weight, the ball hardness, and the ball initial velocity, an average value of the values obtained for all the three golf balls was used. The ball initial velocity was measured by the measurement method provided in the golf ball initial velocity rules by using an initial velocity measurement device of the same type as the drum rotation type initial velocity meter used by the United States Golf Association (USGA).

For the communications distance in Table 1, AT-880 of ATID CO., LTD. was used as an RFID reader, and the distance from the golf ball by which the RFID tags were normally read, i.e., the distance from the golf ball to the RFID reader, was measured.

For the COR durability in Table 1, the durability of the golf balls was evaluated by using ADC Ball COR Durability Tester of Automated Design Corporation (U.S.). The tester has a function for ejecting golf balls by air pressure and colliding them consecutively on two parallel installed metal plates. The velocity of incidence to the metal plates was 43 m/s. An average value of the number of times of ejections of the ball given until the ball was broken was used as the COR durability. In these test results, the average value refers to a value obtained by averaging the number of times of ejections given until all three balls ejected for each Example and each Comparative Example were broken.

The RFID reading performance was examined, and as a result, the RFID was normally read for all the golf balls of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Example 1 until the balls were broken in the COR durability test. In contrast, in Comparative Example 3 in which an IC chip including no built-in antenna to which an external antenna was physically bonded, the RFID was not read in the 10th ejection of the balls, i.e., far earlier than the balls were to be broken in the COR durability test. As a result, it was shown that by providing the boost antenna disposed near the RFID tag incorporating an antenna, failure of communication with the RFID tag could be prevented even if the golf ball was hit hard. The durability of the golf balls per se incorporating the RFID tag and the boost antenna in their inside (Examples 1 to 3) were the same as those of common golf balls including neither the RFID tag nor the boost antenna (Comparative Example 2). 

What is claimed is:
 1. A golf ball with a built-in integrated circuit (IC) chip, comprising: a core located in a center of the golf ball; a cover surrounding an outside of the core; an IC tag arranged between the core and the cover, the IC tag comprising an IC chip and a first antenna directly connected to the IC chip; and a second antenna of which a part is disposed near the IC tag.
 2. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the IC tag and the second antenna are not in physical contact with each other.
 3. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the part of the second antenna disposed near the IC tag is located within 1 mm from the IC tag.
 4. The golf ball according to claim 2, wherein the part of the second antenna disposed near the IC tag is located within 1 mm from the IC tag.
 5. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the second antenna is disposed over at least a half of an outer periphery of the IC tag.
 6. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the second antenna is arranged over at least a half of a circumference of the golf ball.
 7. The golf ball according to claim 2, wherein the second antenna is disposed over at least a half of an outer periphery of the IC tag and is arranged over at least a half of a circumference of the golf ball.
 8. The golf ball according to claim 1, wherein the IC chip has a size of at most 5 mm. 